In front of 300 guests from the fields of politics, sport and society in general at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Friday evening, former Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp accepted the "German-British #Freundship Award" for his services to German-British relations. BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke also thanked Klopp in his speech, honouring the former BVB coach.

The award, created by the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany and the British Embassy, is intended to highlight the special commitment to the relations and friendship between the two countries. Jürgen Klopp is the first to be given the honour. In 2015, Klopp left Germany to manage Premier League club Liverpool FC and has enjoyed great success in England.

But before he left for England, he left his mark on BVB between 2008 and 2015: "There is a prevailing sentiment of huge gratitude in Dortmund for what Jürgen built up here over seven years. And – something which is almost even more valuable – even six years after his departure, people still have so much love for the man Jürgen Klopp. The latter is almost the greatest compliment," emphasised Hans-Joachim Watzke in his speech.

"While other people were collecting trophies, I was making friends," Jürgen Klopp noted in his speech. Today he has both.